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We had ‘em just where we wanted them!

Even after ‘Carolina’s Omarion Hampton turned a short shovel pass into a 47-yard touchdown that staked the Tar Heels to a 30-29 lead with just under two minutes remaining in Saturday’s game, I still had confidence that my Wolfpack could pull out a fourth straight win over our longtime rivals.

And we did!

NC State scored on two-yard TD run by Hollywood Smothers, his second of the afternoon, with 25 seconds left in the game and the ‘Pack became bowl eligible with a 35-30 victory.

State’s game-winning 75-yard drive was highlighted by a miraculous pass reception by Noah Rogers, securing both hands on a 44-yard pass from CJ Bailey who treaded the needle between two UNC defenders.

Saturday’s annual clash between the two marked UNC head coach Mack Brown’s final game with the Tar Heels. Brown, age 73, was fired earlier last week, but coached the team vs. the Wolfpack. In two different stints at ‘Carolina (1988-1997 and 2019-2024), Brown posted a school record 193 wins.

“Great time for me to get out. This isn’t the game I signed up for,” Brown said in his final postgame news conference. “I’m leaving it better than I found it.”

Brown also told reporters that he will not coach UNC (6-6 overall) in a bowl game and that the loss to the Wolfpack was “another sign from God that it’s time to go.”

Since returning to Chapel Hill in 2019, Brown’s Tar Heels have beaten their rivals just twice.

However, to keep things in the grand perspective, UNC still leads the overall series 68-40-6 in the rivalry that dates back to 1894. But if the truth be told, NC State wasn’t very good at football in its early days as the Wolfpack won only three of its first 34 meetings vs. the Tar Heels. We didn’t have much an identity in the early stages of our athletic history…known either as the “Farmers” or the “Mechanics” until an alumnus came up with “Wolf Pack” in 1921.

But no matter our mascot, we always seemed destined to play “second fiddle” to the bluebloods over in Chapel Hill. Thusly, any win we could muster against them was a moment to savor.

The last four (34-30, 30-27 in two overtimes, 39-20, and the latest result, 35-30) have been particularly satisfying. The 2021 game (in Raleigh) was one for the ages as we trailed 30-21 with 2:12 left in the game. However, Emeka Emezie caught two touchdown passes from Devin Leary over a span of only 26 seconds as the ‘Pack stunned the ‘Heels as Carter-Finley Stadium went wild (and I did as well at home in front of my TV).

While our 6-6 record this year was far short of my expectations, beating ‘Carolina plus the opportunity to play a nationally televised bowl game puts a smile on my face.

Meanwhile, the new age of “pay for play” in collegiate athletics doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. For proof, Ohio State (whose roster is full of 5-star players) had lost just once this season (vs. top-ranked Oregon) and was nearly a 21-point favorite at home this past Saturday against Michigan, their biggest rival. But the Buckeyes laid an egg against the Wolverines (who had lost an uncharacteristic five games this year) and suffered an embarrassing 13-10 setback in the process.

Ditto for Alabama. The Crimson Tide, winners of six national championships since 2009, lost three games this season, including Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

It will be curious to see if Alabama is awarded one of the 12 national championship playoff berths. Even with three losses, it appears that ‘Bama still carries some weight as they are ranked #11 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. They were aided this past weekend by unexpected losses by Miami (who blew a 21-point lead at Syracuse and fell to #14 in the poll with a 10-2 record) and Clemson (who lost 17-14 at home vs. rival South Carolina and tumbled to #18 in the poll at 9-3 overall).

However, Miami’s loss opened the door for Clemson to gain a spot in the ACC title game vs. SMU. If the Tigers win that one, they gain the ACC’s automatic berth in the national playoffs and I believe that SMU (with just one loss thus far and ranked #8 nationally as this writing) will have done enough to earn a spot as well. But if Clemson loses, that may play in Alabama’s favor, allowing the Tide to squeak into the playoffs as the #12 and final seed.

Other than that, the current top seven teams are in the playoffs (Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio State). Georgia (10-2 overall) saved their season on Friday night of last week when they rallied from a 17-point, second half deficit to nip rival Georgia Tech, 44-42, in eight overtimes.

If Boise State (11-1 and currently #10 in the national rankings) wins the Mountain West Conference title this coming weekend, I believe they will punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Arizona State and Iowa State, both at 10-2 overall, will play Dec. 7 in the Big 12 championship game for that conference’s automatic bid to the national playoffs.

South Carolina, currently riding a six-game winning streak, is 9-3 overall, may wind up as the hard luck team and just miss a chance at a national playoff berth.

And what are the post-season hopes for my Wolfpack? Well, an invitation to the national championship playoffs is far, far out of reach. But the early projections have NC State possibly meeting Toledo in the Detroit Bowl on Dec. 26; or maybe facing Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27, or lining up against Army on Dec. 28 in the Independence Bowl.

Wherever we go or whomever we face, I’ll leave you with just two words: Go Pack!

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.